Vehicular propulsion means



Nov. 19 1935.

I J. HOCHSTADT VEHICULAR PROPULSION MEANS Filed Aug. 9, 1934 AIR FLOW INVENTOR. JACK OGHSTADT.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. 19, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE vanrcumn pfiifism mums 1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in vehicular propulsion means and has particular ref erence to a means for cutting down the wind resistance incident to travelling at high speeds and 5 to employ this wind resistance as a motive power to. further assist the propulsion of the vehicle.

A further object is to produce a device of this character which will cut the fuel consumption to a very marked extent.

Another object is to produce a device of this character which'may be installed in the ordinary vehicle such as an automobile, without adding greatly to its cost.

A further object is to produce a device which will be fully housed and, therefore, one which will present a neat appearance.

A still further object is to produce a device which is quiet in operation and therefore not ob-' jectionable to the driver or occupants of the vehicle.

vehicle moving over a highway increases very rapidly with the increasing speed of the vehicle. Therefore, it is my intention to provide some means for eliminating this excessive wind pressure which acts as a braking force and therefore requires more fuel to overcome. In accomplishing this object I propose to suck this'air, which is opposing the movement of the vehicle, through a suitable duct and to then deliver this air from the back of the vehicle with considerable force so that this air will become a propulsive force to assist the engine of the vehicle.

In the accompanying drawing wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred em- 0 bodiment of my invention, the numeral I desigtentsandpurposesis similartotheusualmotor carnow found upon the market, the difference being that upon the top of the vehicle I form a duct (which has a funnel-shaped opening I at its Iorward end. At-its rear end this duct is flared as shown at 8 and communicates with a downwardly extending neck! which in turn communicata with achamber l,|,'which is opened as at I! to the. rear of the vehicle. Within this chamber ll isposltioned apropeller llwhichis Other objects and advantages will be appar- I nates an ordinary motor vehicle which to all inmounted upon a shaft l4, driven by a chain It extending from the shaft ll to the shaft II. It is of course obvious that sprockets are positioned upon each of the shafts. The shaft I1 is rotatably supported in the duct 6 and has a pair of 5 propellers l8 secured thereto. A chain or shaft is extends from the shaft I! to the propeller shaft 2 I. Ducts 22 extend from a point adjacent the forward end of the rear fenders to a point adjacent the fan l3. As a result, air may flow as indicated by the arrows upon the running board of Fig. 2, and will enter the chamber II as indicated by the arrows of Fig. 3. The airflow through the duct 6 is indicated by the arrows of Fig. 1. It is, of course, obvious that any desired clutching mechanism may be employed to drive or disconnect power transmission between the propeller-shaft 2| and shaft ll. The result of this construction is that when the vehicle is moving over the highway and my 20 device is in use, the air which would normally bank up or be compressed in front of the vehicle will be withdrawn from that point and will be forced through'the duct 6 and out of the rear of the chamber II. This travel of the air will 25 be assisted by the propellers l8 and I3. Consequently I have not only moved the pressure from in front of the vehicle but I have destroyed the vacuum which ordinarily takes place back of the vehicle.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes relative to the material, size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described my invention; I claim In a device of the character described, the combination with a motor vehicle having a duct 40 formed thereon of less width than the width of the motor vehicle, said duct having a funnelshaped opening extending in the direction of travel of the vehicle, the mouth of said funnel being substantially the width of the' top of the motor vehicle, said duct having a flared rear end and a vertically positioned chamber connected with said duct and extending downwardly alongthe back of said vehicle and forming a chamber, said chamber communicating with the atmosphere to the rear of the vehicle, whereby air passing through said duct will move from said chamber in a horizontal direction to the rear of said vehicle, means positioned in said chamber for exhausting air therefrom. said means including a 5 power driven propeller, and side ducts extending to a point adjacent the forward end of the rear fenders and communicating with said chamber.

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